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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Ravenna

At first glance, there hardly seems to be any comparison between Ravenna and
Rome: Ravenna is smaller, sleepier, and without Rome’s domed skyline or ruins.
But back in the fifth century, it was Ravenna that served as capital of the
Western Roman Empire. In this burgeoning city, Roman rulers built monuments
celebrating both Christianity and their own power—monuments famous, then and
now, for their sweeping mosaics.

Seven of Ravenna’s eight buildings from the fifth and sixth centuries are
spectacularly decorated with examples of this ancient art. “In the past, many
people couldn’t read or write,” says tour guide and Ravenna native Silvia
Giogoli. “Mosaics were a way to explain the religion, and the political
situation, to the people.”

At the Basilica of San Vitale (above), a bejeweled Empress Theodora
stares across the apse at her husband, Justinian. At Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, two
rows of larger-than-life saints march toward the apse. But in Ravenna, mosaics
aren’t just historical remnants. Visitors admire pieces by contemporary
mosaicists including Chagall, Mathieu, and Vedova at the MAR (Museo d’Arte
Ravenna) or poke into cluttered bottegas (workshops) where modern artists use
the same methods as their Byzantine forebears. At the Parco della Pace, locals
relax beside mosaic sculptures; even the city’s street signs glitter with glass
fragments. At the 2013 RavennaMosaico, mosaic mania takes hold. Visitors can
gawk at new pieces, listen to musicians, and learn to make their own
masterpieces. —Amanda Ruggeri

Travel Tips

When to Go: June-October; weather is pleasant in April and
May but historic sites can get crowded with school groups.

Relevant Dates: RavennaMosaico,
a mosaic festival, next takes place in October-November 2015.

What to Read Before You Go: Ravenna in Late Antiquity, by Deborah
Mauskopf Deliyannis (2010), provides a wide-ranging look at the city’s art,
architecture, and history.

Fun Fact: Ravenna’s oldest monument is Battistero Neoniano.
The surrounding street level has risen nearly ten feet since the octagonal
baptistery was built in the fifth century, creating the illusion the building
has sunk belowground.